Cookies are a small text file that is placed in a specific folder on your hard drive. One of many ways to find them if you're using Internet Explorer software or AOL:
START>SETTINGS>CONTROL PANEL>INTERNET OPTIONS
Another way if you've got an Internet Explorer window open:
TOOLS>INTERNET OPTIONS
At this point it helps to clear your cache or your 285 cookies will be intermixed with another 6900 or so cache files. Plus clearing the cache does help restore your web browsing back to full speed.
So click:
DELETE FILES>OK
Again, this just deletes the copies of old web pages that you've visited in the past. For example, if you looked up a story about the Groundhog on Groundhog Day, that page is saved on your computer.
Next, click SETTINGS
Then click VIEW FILES
If you've cleared your cache already, you should only see the cookies at this time.
Here's what my AR15.com cookie looks like (I altered a couple of the characters)
[b]siteUsername
Robbie
www.ar15.com/
0
3763382720
291474180
39560129792
29455673
*
lastBoard1Visit
12%2e25%2e2001+5^2A45%3A11+PM
www.ar15.com/
0
614654596
295229099
4129249792
29455573
*
[/b]
As you can see, some of it is readable...such as the user name, the last visit (which I changed to Christmas), but the other numbers in there are only cross-referenced with AR15.com's computers.
Cookies basically have three uses:
[b]Convenience[/b] - If you go visit a web site where you can login such as Excite.com the first time you enter in your user ID and your password. The web site then saves a cookie on your computer and puts in a code number such as "1234937854." But the 2nd time, you don't have to because the web site looks for it's own cookie then finds the number 1234937854, then looks up it's own files and sees that number is you, so it logs you in without asking for your password. If you delete that Excite.com cookie, then the next time you go to the site, it won't find the cookie, so it will ask you to log in again and save another cookie.
[b]Security[/b] - Let's say you log on to your online broker or bank. As your computer and the broker's computer is calculating their security codes, the online broker will place a "non-persistent" cookie in the memory of your computer that is set to expire in say 2-5 minutes. This way if somebody tries to tap into your same data stream to try to pass themself off as you, but it won't work since they won't have that cookie in memory and their computer will be rejected as an imposter. Also, after the 2-5 minute expiration, the web site will redo all security codes with your computer.
[b]Marketing[/b] - Let's say you go to a web site and buy a Tom Clancy book. The web site will put a cookie on your computer with it's special one-time code of "aa349d32". The next time you visit that site a week or month later, the web site will see that cookie and look up that code of aa349d32 on it's own files and see you as a customer. So the home page will conjure up some other Tom Clancy books for you to see right on the front home page of that web site. Where somebody else would get a different home page based upon their own buying habits.
----continued----